Baby pottying is the most gentle, gradual and effective way for children to learn about their bodily functions and prepare for becoming toilet independent. Rebecca Mottram shares 10 benefits of helping your baby to use a potty.
Baby pottying helps you to bond with your child
Baby pottying in essentials teaches your baby that you are there to respond to their innate needs. This builds trust and deepens the connection you have with them.
Baby pottying reduces colic, fussiness and constipation
Human beings are not designed to wee and poo whilst lying down. The ideal position is squatting which allows the bladder and bowel to fully empty. Helping your baby get into the best position not only aids the healthy development of their bladder and bowels but it helps prevent constipation, alleviates colic and reduces overall fussiness.
Baby pottying helps your baby to move independently
Nappies are bulky and prevent your child from moving freely. Having regular nappy free time makes it easier for your child to crawl and walk unimpeded.
Baby pottying helps with breastfeeding
Newborn babies have small stomachs and their digestion is triggered by each feed, perhaps you have noticed your baby break off to poo during or poo right after? Using the potty during feeds is much less of a disturbance than having to change a nappy is, helping them to feed fully and then sleep soundly afterwards.
Baby pottying prevents nappy rash, eczema and thrush
If is far more comfortable and hygienic for your child to wee and poo in a potty than it is to sit or lie in their own waste. Wee and poo irritates the skin after prolonged contact (especially during teething!), and modern disposable nappies are relatively airtight, exacerbating common skin issues like nappy rash, eczema and thrush.
Baby pottying helps your baby to sleep soundly
Being attuned to when your child needs to empty their bladder or bowels helps you to put them to sleep when they are comfortable, clean and ready for a long, restful sleep.
Baby pottying helps the environment
Disposable nappies and wipes are made of synthetic materials which take approximately 500 years to biodegrade. By the time your child is 2, you will have sent an average of 4,000 nappies to landfill which is a horrifying number considering that so far in 2024 there have been 605,479 live births. If each baby currently in the UK used a potty just once a week, in three years we would save around 14,000 tonnes of nappy waste going to landfill.
Baby pottying helps your finances
Not only is throwing away thousands of nappies bad for the environment, you are also buying all of these nappies. Imagine if you also used the potty, even just a few times a day. Not only would you use fewer nappies every day, but your baby would be developing the skills they need to stop using nappies altogether as early as 18 months. Compare that to buying nappies until your child is 3 or 4 years old. It just makes good financial sense!
Baby pottying helps your baby to develop communication skills
Babies learn to communicate with you first about their immediate needs. There are 5 types of baby cry:
Neh” (hunger)
“Eh” (need to burp)
“Owh/Oah” (tired)
“Eair/Eargghh” (cramps/low belly pain)
“Heh” (physical discomfort; feel hot or wet)
The latter two relate to needing to wee/poo or having just done a wee or a poo. When you respond to your baby’s needs, they learn that communicating these needs to you with sounds is effective. Daily repetition of toileting words like the names of their body parts, wee, poo, potty etc become associated with the feelings in their body and the behaviours that are then expected – that they should wee and poo in the potty/toilet when they get this feeling. This prepares them perfectly for the transition of moving on from nappies altogether and becoming toilet independent or potty trained.
Baby pottying helps your baby develop positive body awareness
Supporting your child’s natural development arc from birth signals to them that they are capable, that you trust them (building self esteem) and that their bodily processes are important. Knowing the proper names for their body parts and that they can talk about them with their caregivers can also help to keep them safe should they ever experience inappropriate or abusive behaviour from an adult.
You can learn all about the life-changing magic of baby pottying with my book, the Baby Pottying Guide.
Nurse Rebecca Mottram is an advocate for Baby Pottying and a potty training expert. She is the author of two books; The Baby Pottying Guide and Positively Potty, the host of the Go Potty Podcast and founder of the Little Bunny Bear shop. If you are trying to resolve a potty problem, you can explore Rebecca’s free resources, join her Facebook group or request a private consultation.